1. Field
The invention is related to a fiber optic cable, and more particularly to a highly tamper sensitive fiber optic cable.
2. Related Art and Background
When optical fiber cables came into the market, it was deemed that they were tamper proof as someone could not tap into the core of the fiber to get to the data being transferred. Unfortunately, this is no longer true. The fiber can be tapped into to obtain the data that is being transmitted through splicing in a splitter or with a device that bends the fiber enough to create some leaking of the signal from the core. With the right equipment, this leaked signal can be captured.
The need for secure communication is critical for a variety of entities ranging from the banking industry, government, military and industry. Typically the signals can be encrypted which improves the security but some risk remains as hackers are becoming more sophisticated.
Therefore, there is a need for a system that can monitor if the cable is being tampered with. There are sophisticated interrogation systems that can measure vibration on an optical fiber using coherent Rayleigh processing or interferometic sensing technologies which also can measure vibration. If someone created vibration on a fiber optic cable while trying to access the fibers, these technologies would sense the event very well.
However, if no vibration or minimal vibration was created, for example, by using chemicals/acids to eat away the cable structure to get to the communication fibers, the information being transferred could possibly be compromised. Therefore, there is a need to have a cable structure that can provide additional layers of tamper resistance.